Sept. 6 Edition Now Online

The Sept. 6 edition of The Living Church is available online to registered subscribers. This issue features two reports on the Community of St. Anselm: an interview by the Rev. Sarah Puryear with the Rev. Anders Litzell, who serves as its prior, and a report by John Martin on the thinking behind the community’s formation.

Puryear asks Litzell:

In your doctoral work you have focused on the leadership of St. Benedict. Because of his creation of an intentional Christian community in a time of cultural change and political chaos, Benedict is considered a timely example for the church in a post-Christian culture (e.g., Rod Dreher’s “Benedict Option”). How has St. Benedict’s example guided you so far in creating the Community of St. Anselm?

Litzell responds:

St. Benedict is a great influence on me and Archbishop Justin alike (who is a Benedictine Oblate) and the flavour of our Rule is much inspired by St. Benedict, both in particular emphases (restating in our context St. Benedict’s exhortation to his monks to “prefer nothing whatever to Christ”) as well as the basic balance between work, study, prayer, rest — and the importance of silence in our daily schedule. Also St. Benedict’s wisdom in shaping and facilitating deep human relationships is a wealth of riches that continues to inspire and challenge me as we make the smaller, but ever so important, decisions that will guide our day-to-day life.

NewsHonor for an American Martyr

FeaturesStopping Human Traffic | By G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Community of St. AnselmTwenty Minutes with the Rev. Anders LitzellLambeth’s Benedict Option | By Sarah PuryearSpiritual Boot Camp | By John Martin